Re Golinger's "DANILO ANDERSON: IN MEMORIAM"

By Henrique Lander A.* | 23.11.04

To EVA GOLINGER
C/o evagolinger@hotmail.com
Comfortably and Safely Living Somewhere in New York City, USA

As public servant appointed to the General Attorney’s office, it must have been quite easy and rewarding for Danilo Anderson to be a “brave and dedicated servant to The Revolution” as you have stated. In spite of his true self as seen by his professional performance as a prosecutor for Chavez regime, all of Venezuela deeply deplores and adamantly rejects the barbaric act that, for obvious political reasons, took the life of a human being. But please remember that, in the last six years alone, there have been multiple victims of the same type of political violence that has poisoned our country, victims whose cases were of no concern whatsoever for our revolutionary judicial system. For the revolution, it has been most convenient to forsake those human beings discarding them as valuable citizens for family and country as the recently murdered person found in Anderson’s vehicle was; victims of political aberrations, no doubt, who obviously didn’t qualify for posthumous medals, honors, mentions, and high profile funeral services as the one staged by ‘The Revolution’ on behalf of the new symbol of the Rule of Law, broken principles thrown into the trash can as discarded toilet paper. Were they, the victims of government gunmen, that much expendable?

Danilo Anderson was indeed a public prosecutor in charge of a very particular, but no less perverse and dangerous political agenda. His were all indictments in which the lack of evidence against those accused was a common denominator. While simple facts and realities if taken into consideration would acquit the abused defendants, they were conveniently ignored not only by Anderson but also by the General Attorney Isaías Rodríguez, and by all the Supreme Court Magistrates, creating an atmosphere of judicial defenselessness deeply felt in every level of society in Venezuela.

A lawyer of dubious behavior as a University student with a passion for the radical left, soon in his career Anderson became a trusted and useful agent of Hugo Chavez government. He enjoyed all the necessary backing and encouragement, political and otherwise, for the advancement of his bizarre indictments against random as well as specific political dissidents - the so called ‘enemies of the revolution’.

The fact remains that Anderson’s indictments have been seen for what they were: Acts of intimidation and repression aimed at the prompt suppression of dissidence as well as retaliatory measures directed against those individuals considered for reasons of prestige and or power among opposition groups, dangerous for the regime’s stability and consolidation: Mayor Henrique Capriles, the prisoners of San Cristobal, high ranking officers both from the Army and the National Guard and no less than fourteen lawyers that have acted as legal counselors for the defense of undisclosed defendants.
Last but not least, as an obedient agent always eager to remove the thorns in the revolution’s hide, Anderson turned his attention towards SUMATE, a NGO legally advising the population on themes like their civil and constitutional rights and helping like no other, to organize the Presidential Referendum. Their crime? Receiving funds from the National Endowment for Democracy, a US Congress organization for, precisely, the promotion of democracy worldwide, and their roll in the path towards the Presidential Referendum.

Anderson took upon himself quite a controversial job: that of official judicial executioner for the revolution. He was, in the words of the newsman Rodolfo Schmidt “one of the most essential and necessary figures in the dismantling of the Rule of Law in Venezuela”.
The indictments by Anderson, delivered by his office in defiance of the due processes associated to an impartial administration of justice, have indeed disclosed the true aggressive nature and methods of the so called ‘bolivarian revolution’, nothing more than a 19th. Century tropical dictatorship where those whose duty for God and Country was supposed to be the administration of justice correcting fifty years of abuse for the benefit of the whole nation, have miserably failed.

Instead, Anderson and his peers at the General Attorney’s Office preferred to ignore all the most indecent criminal cases, corruption included, while condoning or simply ignoring clearly documented murders and assorted crimes and felonies, thus turning the administration of justice of the so called Fifth Republic, into nothing more than a charade, an instrument of political repression and intimidation, having written some of the most indecent chapters of judicial terrorism associated to a communist dictatorship is this continent.

But there’s a fact which must be taken into serious consideration: Within minutes of Anderson’s assassination, the highest personalities of the regime presented themselves in the scene of the crime. Immediately thereafter, as reported by the TV channels covering the news, Danilo Anderson was being projected by all and every high member of government, as a national martyr, just as Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara was transformed into the communist Super Model he posthumously was after his death in Bolivia, for the sole purpose of overhauling the promotion of Castro’s communist revolution in spite of all the ideological, operational and practical differences that separated Castro’s management of his communist revolution from his most active agents, comrades in arms and supporters, Guevara included. The scheme was very successful indeed. Guevara still lives. Anderson too.

The demise of Danilo Anderson at the hands of unreported and unidentified political activists, has no doubt painted a grimmer, bloodier and more dangerous future for Venezuela than it was before, annulling for years to come whatever remnants of Venezuela’s real chances for a peaceful return to a full respect for the Rule of Law and a well understood Democratic way of government, sine qua non conditions to attain economic prosperity on sustainable basis.
These by themselves, are reasons enough to reject, condemn and abhor acts of such nature, in spite of the fact that, as explained by Rodolfo Schmidt a famous columnist.. “Anderson unleashed the State violence against the civil society. He was neither a well-intentioned man nor a good one, and his death leaves no irreplaceable vacancy in our society. This reporter cannot applaud the attempt, but neither can regret the absence of the victim”.

Today, in perfect sync with the script, the leaders of the revolution have turned Danilo Anderson into a full revolutionary hero and a highly valued propaganda icon to serve their most pressing short term needs, which are many. From his place of rest, Anderson has become an ideal and useful instrument for the promotion and advance of the revolution and it’s ever more ambitious continental aims. These steps by themselves suggest a reason and a motive for his murder: It is said that had already exhausted – or probably exceeded - his usefulness for The Revolution, speculations which suggest who the murderers could have been, and which come to no surprise in the history of the communist world and of those God forsaken countries suffering under the rule of dictatorships. Of course, this line of reasoning, should it be accurate, forecasts a wave of additional repression in perfect sync with the often announced consolidation of the revolution by Hugo Chavez and bragged by his most conspicuous supporters.

But let me be very adamant, Ms. Golinger: Being a two way street, terrorism and the violence associated with it, including political assassinations, real or faked, is not the way to pursue peace and prosperity for any country as the current worldwide situation proves beyond any possible doubt. Nor could be the multiple gross violations of the Rule of Law as it has been instituted by the General Attorney’s Office through the services of the late Danilo Anderson, with the close cooperation and support from our Supreme Court, Magistrates who have said nothing, have heard nothing, and have done nothing to correct that situation, and therefore, definitely have contributed like no other branch of government to the aggravation of the crippling and dangerous crisis the country has been submerged into since even before the 14th. of February 1992.
In this domestic and troubled scenario, however consistent the evidence presented by the deeds themselves has been, violence and terrorism on the part of the government, has been presented to the people as a legitimate response by the government to criminal acts stemming from opposition groups, thus dismissing and consequently acquitting the most obvious perpetrator: The government itself through contracted assassins, the armed civilians militia acting as shock troops, government security forces and mercenaries blindly and faithfully serving the regime who pays their salaries.

These unheard-of aggressions and acts of state terrorism against the most basic civil rights and liberties of the Venezuelan people, have been cynically ignored by the General Attorney’s Office, to be perversely presented to the Nation as acts committed by terrorists and fascists opposition groups, labels of the most insolent nature specifically designed to discredit and disqualify wholesome democratic and law abiding groups of citizens openly opposed to the instauration of a communist regime in our country.

Civil liberties and rights of the people have suffered the most obscene denials and violations to our constitutional rights by the same group of men who, at every turn of events, glorifies the 1999 Constitution, which proves not only the double talk of those in power, but the perverse strategic political nature of decisions taken at the highest levels of government, which are often expressed by the suppressive and repressive offensive the official sector is capable of today, mostly through the increased use of the so called “selective judicial terrorism” in which Danilo Anderson was an expert.

Some examples of the aforementioned? The burned and the deceased soldiers of Fuerte Mara in Maracaibo. The fake Para Military Group assembled at the Hatari ranch in Alto Hatillo, nothing more than a group of one hundred plus unemployed and ignorant Colombian teenagers from border towns brought into the country under false and criminal pretenses by agents of the government to be eventually massacred – meaning murdered in a premeditated fashion - in a preplanned commando operation, which was to serve the regime as “irrefutable evidence” of the subversive nature of the opposition and thus justify a planned and needed repression effort against that group as well as specific individuals like Mr. Robert Alonso, including active members of the Armed Forces who had openly voiced their opposition to the regime who had to be promptly removed from the scene.

The price being paid by the Nation for this national catastrophe has been the absence of the most essential ingredients with which to promote peace, prosperity, understanding and conciliation for the people of Venezuela. In spite of the frequent and hollow calls for peace and conciliation voiced by cynic government officials, the nation is constantly suffering the most flagrant violations of justice and disrespect for the rule of law in its history, without which a democracy is unviable, and national peace and conciliation more than impossible.

This, Ms Golinger is in very general and abridged terms, the current situation of the administration of justice in Venezuela. Your grossly biased opinions and promotions on behalf of the present regime, either proves how much of an ignorant political analyst you are, or how your services in favor of Mr. Chavez’ communist agenda are subject to a tariff. Both serve the same purpose, which suggests your fees for writing such an incredible amount of trash, lies and premeditated misconceptions, must be quite handsome. For it is unthinkable that someone, presumably well educated, with enough reference points from which to draw honest conclusions and with an elementary but inborn knowledge – for being half Venezuelan - of all that is going on in this country today in the political arena, could write such an amount of political trash, hypocrisy and cynicism and still be able to look at your fellow pedestrians right in the eyes while you transit the streets of New York City, a city which today grants you and six millions more New Yorkers, what Venezuela today, under Hugo Chávez, is denying its 24 millions inhabitants: Self esteem and determination under the Rule of Law.

One more question Ms. Golinger: Have you seriously consider moving your place of residence to Havana, Cuba? Isn’t that the country and city where your already have all you’re striving for?

My conclusion is this: It is always wise and healthy to know your enemies.